This time around, things were made a little more special as they kicked off their 2017 CNBLUE LIVE [BETWEEN US] Asia Tour right here in Singapore, with dates in Jakarta, Hong Kong, Manila, Bangkok and Taipei soon to follow.

Held at the recently renovated Zepp@BIGBOX, this was perhaps the best audio feast that we’ve been treated to at a local concert, with the band’s jamming on their instruments and impressive vocals carried crystal clear over the booming audio system.

The two-and-a-half hour gig maintained its infectious energy throughout the show, most of which could be attributed to frontman Yonghwa’s seemingly endless enthusiasm.

The only thing we wished we could’ve seen were more of the band’s old hits, such as their debut track ‘I’m A Loner’ and ‘Love Light’. Nevertheless, CNBLUE kept to their promise and performed a variety of tracks that have never been performed here, which was definitely a treat for their BOICE (CNBLUE’s official fan club name).

For those of you who weren’t in the screaming crowd, you missed out on a spectacular show - and here’s four reasons why you really should’ve caught CNBLUE’s gig.

Read on for more.

Everything was, for lack of a better phrase, on point02 Jul 2017

Everything was, for lack of a better phrase, on point

This being their first stop for their current tour, we were half expecting that there would be some teething problems along the way. Thankfully, none of that happened as the members’ energy levels were as high as we’ve ever seen them, their jamming (those guitar riffs!) were amazing, and the vocals, especially Yonghwa’s, were spectacular.

Such were his notes - in particular, the high ones that could possibly convince Aerosmith’s frontman Steven Tyler to take a second listen - that impressed glances were exchanged and cheers were heard whenever he belted them out to a tee.

The only hiccup we saw was when Yonghwa became a tad too excited and dropped his blue microphone after throwing it in the air, causing him to be momentarily flustered and end up having to change his mic halfway through the show.

CNBLUE can hold an entire conversation with you - in English02 Jul 2017

CNBLUE can hold an entire conversation with you - in English

Gone are the days when translators were needed as middlemen to translate what Korean stars say on stage. CNBLUE has joined the ranks of stars who can converse with their audiences in English. All the members - Yonghwa, Jonghyun, Jungshin and Minhyuk - took turns to address their adoring fans in a mixture of English, Singlish (yes, you didn’t read that wrong) and a teensy bit of Korean.

Notably, their grasp of Singlish (both in the vocabulary and pronunciation departments) has also improved by leaps and bounds, with bassist Jungshin’s “Ya, ya, ya” sounding perfectly like something you’d hear on a regular day out in your neighbourhood.

Every minute was a group effort02 Jul 2017

Every minute was a group effort

There was no time for solo stages at this concert as every minute was used for the band to showcase their songs to the fans. Towards the end of the concert, all four members (that includes Minhyuk, who was mostly at the back working the drums) went forward to the extension stage, where they sang an acoustic version of ‘Manito’.

Worth mentioning is also the fact that the group didn’t bother with fancy outfit changes as they let their music do the talking. The only outfit change came just before the encore, where they changed into their official tour T-shirt. Props to the boys for being able to rock out for two hours straight without skipping a beat.

CNBLUE + BOICE = LOVE02 Jul 2017

CNBLUE + BOICE = LOVE

Old or new, CNBLUE clearly loves all their fans (Psst, you probably wouldn’t have felt left out even if you aren’t a fan but was at the concert).

Apart from the witty banter that they exchanged with the crowd - our personal favourites being, Yonghwa asking, “Are you Korean? Can you understand Korean?” in English, with the crowd roaring a “Yes!” back in response. While he clearly didn’t buy their answer, he gamely played along as the audience never waned in their enthusiastic cheers for the group.

“Tonight, we stay young forever and we'll come back again; we'll come back forever,” Yonghwa declared before launching into the final song for the night, ‘Young Forever’. While it’s debatable if we’ll truly be able to stay young forever, there’s no doubt in our minds that after tonight, in their fans’ minds they’ll stay, forever.